How do I get my car out of the impound if the person driving it had no license? 9 Answers as of March 12, 2012

Can law enforcement hold a car in impound for 30 days when a person loans their car to someone with a suspended license? I did not know the person did not have a license. The person was stopped for speeding. What can be done to get the car out of impound?

The registered owner must go and present proof of ownership and current registration/tags, proof of insurance, pay the tow and storage costs to recover the vehicle. Every day you wait you incur more cost.

In California the officer that writes the citation has the discretion (the right to decide) to impound a vehicle temporarily or for 30 days in some circumstances. You can contact the officer and the officer can release the hold however I have found that the officer is not aware of this portion of the law and I have only been successful when I communicate with counsel for the law enforcement agency. You probably will not be able to do that unless you are a lawyer or you have hired a lawyer. It should be noted that even when a lawyer is involved there is no guarantee that the vehicle will be released before the 30 days is up.

You have 48 hours to request an impound hearing. As long as you show the police that you are the registered owner (not the arrestee), the police will issue you a release, which you bring to the tow yard to get your car released to you.

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